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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. court — of a king
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bat — the animal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — a match
  14. bark — to shout
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. squash — the sport
  17. key — for a lock
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. snap — to click
  21. key — the most important part
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. key — in music
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com